Nominations are now open for the 2009 Irish Blog Awards. Nominations close at 6pm on January 14th.

Best Designed Blog and Best Arts and Crafts Blog and Most Humorous Post have been axed. Best Fashion Blog has been added and Best Humour Blog. Best Blog is now the Grand Prix and you cannot nominate a blog directly for this, it needs to have won in one of the other categories to get through.

There are never enough categories to keep everyone happy but there is finite time at the event so what we’ll be doing is having an online vote for categories that won’t make the ceremony but are worthy of attention anyway. Suggestions for these categories are welcome and voting will take place at the start of February with the winners of these announced online Wednesday the 18th of February during “Irish Blog Week”.

Have fun nominating. Choose wisely.

There were 22 categories for the 2008 Blog Awards. That’s a hell of a lot. A lot of people, a lot of glassware. A lot of Rick calling out winners. Suggestions for new categories for 2009 include a Beauty and Fashion Category, a Youth Category and a Health and Science Category. Should there be new categories? Should old ones be culled? There were a lot of people suggesting categories on a very selfish basis last time out even if they were the only Irish blog on polka-dot coloured unicorns. Those kind of suggestions this time round will be publicly pointed out and laughed at.

We’ll happily consider creating a new category if there are at least a dozen active blogs covering that category in Ireland. Get suggesting, you have a few days.

2008 Categories:

* Best Popculture blog

* Best Blog from a Journalist

* Best Food/Drink Blog

* Best Crafts Blog

* Best Arts and Culture Blog

* Best Political Blog

* Best Group Blog

* Best Use of the Irish Language in a Blog

* Best Technology Blog/Blogger

* Best Designed Blog – Buckley

* Best Sport & Recreation Blog

* Best News/Current Affairs Blog

* Best Specialist Blog

* Best Newcomer

* Best Business Blog

* Best Music Blog

* Special Recognition Award

* Best Personal Blog

* Most Humorous Post

* Best Photo Blog

* Best Blog Post

* Best Blog

Registration form.

Yes, already. Places are limited for this one (280 instead of 420) as the venue is smaller but it’s expected that some of the regulars might not travel that far South so it won’t be too jammed.

The venue is the Cork International Airport Hotel. If you quote “Blog Awards” when you ring and book you’ll get a discount on the room.

Photo owned by Eoin O’Mahony (cc)

Sponsorship and nominations will follow soon.

Fergal Crehan on the post-Obama party and what it means to Irish Politics. It’s a war cry, so who’ll take up the challenge?

Waiting around for an Obama is a terrible idea both in principle and in practice. In principle, because it’s undemocratic and lazy and contributes to a degraded civic life, where nobody is willing to take responsibility for the condition of their own country. In practice, because Barack Obama became the man he is through his involvement in politics. He was not beamed down into the US Senate a fully formed leader, but became one through years of hard, dull and often unrewarding political effort.

Draws happen.

This time two very worthy and different posts are the winners. (Sorry to Paul in O2 for picking two!) This narrative from Gimme stuns you and this description of the Medical Card potests from Red mum later in the month with fantastic photos shows we’re not all that apathetic at all and that the older generations can teach us a lot still.